Essex County vs. Massachusetts Comparative Trends Analysis: Total Industry Earnings Growth and Change, 1969-2022 Introduction Essex County: 2022 Earnings = $34,558,059K 2022 Percent of State = 7.76% Massachusetts: 2022 Earnings = $445,079,998K 2022 Percent of U.S. = 2.93% Industry earnings are incomes received by people who are directly involved with producing goods and services. Earnings, referred to also as "labor and proprietors income", include (1) wage and salary disbursements, (2) other labor income such as employer contributions to private retirement and medical insurance programs, and (3) the net incomes of proprietors (i.e., the owners of unincorporated enterprises). In contrast to the more frequently cited employment data, earnings data more accurately reflect qualitative differences in labor's contributions toward the production of goods and services, namely the productivity differences reflected in variations in earnings per job. Earnings data, therefore, are better for comparing and tracking long-term trends and identifying short-run shifts in the level and composition of economic activity within and among counties. Just like the employment data compiled by BEA, earnings data are reported on a place-of-work, or more accurately on a place-where-earned, basis. Note: the BEA earnings data presented and discussed here in the context of comparing and assessing the economic growth and performance of county and regional economies are entirely separate and apart from--and should not be confused with--corporate earnings, which are compiled from the balance sheets of individual private corporations. Essex County Total Industry Earnings, 1970-2022 Current vs. Constant Dollars (Millions) Figure 1. Figure 1 depicts Essex County's annual total industry earnings over 1970-2022 in current and constant (2017) dollars. Constant dollar measurements remove the effects of inflation. They allow for comparison of changes in the real purchasing power of Essex County over time. When measured in current dollars, Essex County's total industry earnings increased 1,709.62%, from $1,910M in 1970 to $34,558M in 2022. When measured in constant 2017 dollars to adjust for inflation, it advanced 208.24%, from $9,661M in 1970 to $29,780M in 2022. Real Total Industry Earnings, 1969-2022 (Millions) Figure 2. Figure 2 tracks Essex County's and Massachusetts' annual real total industry earnings for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate real total industry earnings patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Essex County's real total industry earnings rose from $9,490M in 1969 to $29,780M in 2022, for a net gain of $20,290M, or 213.81%. In comparison, Massachusetts' real total industry earnings advanced from $103,043M in 1969 to $383,547M in 2022, for a net advance of $280,504M, or 272.22%. Real Total Industry Earnings Indices (1969=100): 1969-2022 Figure 3. Figure 3 portrays Essex County's real total industry earnings growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with Massachusetts, the United States. The growth indices shown here express each region's real total industry earnings in 1969 as a base figure of 100, and the real total industry earningss in later years as a percentage of the 1969 base figure. This method allows for more direct comparison of differences in real total industry earnings growth between regions that may differ vastly in size. Essex County's overall real total industry earnings growth was 213.81% over 1969-2022 trailed Massachusetts' increase of 272.22%, and fell below the United States' increase of 278.59%. Total Industry Earnings as a Percent of the Massachusetts Total: 1969-2022 Figure 4. Another interesting and insightful way of highlighting the total industry earnings growth of Essex County is to compare its individual percentage contributions to Massachusetts' statewide total industry earnings over time, as shown in Figure 4. A rising share means a region's total industry earnings grew faster, or declined less, than Massachusetts' total industry earnings, while a declining share shows it grew more slowly. In 1969, Essex County's total industry earnings comprised 9.21% of Massachusetts' total industry earnings, while in 2022 it equated to 7.76% thereby yielding a -1.45% share-shift.
Essex County Real Total Industry Earnings: Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022 Figure 5. Figure 5 highlights the short-run pattern of Essex County's real total industry earnings growth by tracking the year-to-year percent change over 1970-2022. The average annual percent change for the entire 53-year period is also traced on this chart to provide a benchmark for gauging periods of relative high--and relative low--growth against the backdrop of the long-term average. On average, Essex County's real total industry earnings grew at an annual rate of 2.23% over 1970-2022. The county posted its highest growth in 1984 (10.90%) and posted its lowest growth in 1990 (-4.56%). In 2022, Essex County's real total industry earnings declined by -1.55% Essex County Real Total Industry Earnings: Annual Percent Change and Decade Averages Over 1970-2022 Figure 6. Over the past five decades some counties have experienced extreme swings in growth, and often such swings have tended to coincide with the decades themselves. Figure 6 again shows the annual percent change in Essex County's real total industry earnings since 1970, but this time they are overlayed with average growth rates for the decade of the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020-2022. During the 1970s, Essex County's annual real total industry earnings growth rate averaged 1.59%. It averaged 4.06% in the 1980s, 2.41% in the 1990s, 1.53% in the 2000s, 2.25% in the 2010s, -0.10% thus far this decade (2020-2022). Real Total Industry Earnings Growth: Average Annual Percent Change by Decade Figure 7. Figure 7 compares the decade average growth rates for Essex County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for Massachusetts and the nation. As the chart reveals, Essex County's average annual real total industry earnings growth trailed Massachusetts' average throughout the 1970s (1.59% vs. 1.82%), trailed Massachusetts' average throughout the 1980s (4.06% vs. 4.26%), amounted to less than Massachusetts' average throughout the 1990s (2.41% vs. 2.81%), posted below Massachusetts' average in the 2000s (1.53% vs. 1.61%), trailed Massachusetts' average throughout the 2010s (2.25% vs. 2.80%), and recorded under Massachusetts' average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (-0.10% vs. 0.86%). Finally, relative to nationwide real total industry earnings growth trends, Essex County trailed the nation throughout the 1970s (1.59% vs. 3.13%), exceeded the nation throughout the 1980s (4.06% vs. 2.62%), recorded underneath the nation throughout the 1990s (2.41% vs. 3.43%), outgained the nation throughout the 2000s (1.53% vs. 1.47%), lagged the nation over the 2010s (2.25% vs. 2.53%), and fell under the nation over 2020-2022 (-0.10% vs. 1.48%).
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